Just wondering if anyone knows if that guy is ok who got dragged over the wall and onto the road in Altona last week. I heard he wasn't able to move his legs anymore and got taken away by an ambo. Does anyone know if he's fine?

There wasn't that much wind, I was on my 11 and I think he was on a 12m Cab. I was a bit further down towards Apex park and there were a couple of guys cruising in the flat bit after the groin just past the main launch area, including that Cab that had the accident.

Next thing I saw was a kite in a tree on a side of the house (corner webb street and esplanade) with a few bystanders standing there. Didn't think too much about it as it is quite common sight in Altona. But then later I went to have a look after I saw Rich pulling the lines down from the power line. They said they have called the ambulance because the guy was not able to move the legs.

The kite wasn't too big for the conditions that evening. Regarding his kite skills I don't know as I was a fair bit away and didn't pay any attention who was kiting there and what they were doing.

iRideWainman said...

Saffer said...

First I've heard of it. Any idea what happened?

Newbie? Someone taking out too big a kite?

Without being disrespectful to the person involved, it doesn't surprise me at this stage. With the amount of beginners launching there and people riding inappropriate kite sizes, it was a matter of time before something more serious happened.

Saying "without being disrespectful" doesn't absolve one from being so. Some compassion and sympathy wouldn't go astray (particularly if the unfortunate individual is reading this, and the details are accurate, i.e. potential paralysis).

Yes, I agree there's a large disparity on what kite size you will see out in any given wind condition (for whatever reason, and mostly the wrong ones), but this is why it's important that other kiteboarders remain vigilant, take initiative and offer some friendly advice if they see stupid sh*% taking place due to a lack of education/training.

What am I supposed to say? "Wow, this is such a shock! This kind of thing never happens at Altona".

Yes, it is unfortunate and yes, our sympathy goes out to the individual involved, but the reality here is this is not a surprise to anyone who kites regularly at Altona. Like it or not, it was just a matter of time before this happened. The warning signs have been there for ages. At one point we had 5 kites in the trees or power lines in 5 consecutive days - if thats not a warning sign, I don't know what is.

This is not intended as a "I told you so" post. If anything, we need to take this as an opportunity to make the required changes as as soon as possible to prevent this happening again. The next time could be worse. Someone could be killed, be it an innocent bystander or another kiter and this accident simply highlights that if we're sitting back waiting for something to happen before we react, well guess what, it just happened!

I agree that people need to be vigilant about other kiters, but we can't take the responsibility away from everyone in this case, and there are a lot of people to consider here - The shops/schools sending kiters to Altona knowing that its not a recommended place for beginners to ride, the riders sitting on the beach laughing every time some new rider takes a stack or launches out of control (yes, they are there), etc.